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The New England Patriots are officially laboring through the 2024 campaign, as they have lost four straight games after opening their season with a shocking 16-10 upset victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. That win feels like it took place years ago, as the Pats offense has been stuck in the mud all season long, with their defense and special teams units being unable to do enough to make up for their woes.
As a result of their struggles, the Pats offense, led by veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, has been under fire all season long. Brissett's numbers are lackluster (79/135, 696 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT), but he's largely done what's been asked of him. He hasn't turned the football over much, and he's taking a beating under center behind a lackluster offensive line.
Despite the lack of talent on offense, calls for the team to insert rookie quarterback Drake Maye under center have only grown louder with each passing week, and the team finally relented by announcing that he will get the start in their Week 6 contest against the Houston Texans. There's no doubt the offense needs a shake up, but inserting Maye into the lineup is not the right move, and this could prove to be a costly mistake for the Pats.
Why Patriots are making a mistake by starting Drake Maye
After failing miserably to develop Mac Jones as their quarterback of the future, the Patriots punted on him this offseason by trading him to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They quickly replaced Jones by signing the veteran Brissett in free agency, and selecting Maye with the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. After they quickly thrust Jones into action, only to watch him crash and burn, the Pats new regime opted to take a slower approach with Maye, letting him sit behind Brissett to open the season.
While not incredibly exciting, the move made a lot of sense. Maye's potential is sky-high, but he's still young and raw in a lot of ways, and after they completely messed up Jones' development, taking a more cautious path forward with the former UNC gunslinger made sense. Beyond that, New England's offense is completely lacking in the talent department, so even if Maye were to play, he'd be at risk of struggling early and losing confidence.
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Brissett has not been good through five games, there's no doubt about that. But he's taking an absolute beating behind a makeshift offensive line, and has arguably the least talented crop of playmakers in the entire league around him. New England doesn't have a pass catcher who has amassed more than 200 receiving yards through five games, and their top playmaker in running back Rhamondre Stevenson was benched in favor of Antonio Gibson in Week 5 after he fumbled in each of the first four games of the season.
And yet, the team has decided now is the time to thrust Maye into the lineup. There's no doubt this will make games more interesting to watch, but that's not really the point of this season. The Patriots are rebuilding; they are supposed to be awful. Letting Maye develop behind the scenes by not throwing him into harm's way until they absolutely had to was the best path forward for this team.
But the calls for Maye to start permeated the inner fortress at Gillette Stadium, and it has led to this hair-brained decision. Maye will be thrown into the lions den now, and his development is at serious risk as a result. Sure, he could go in and light it up, but what has this offense done through five weeks to indicate that is even remotely possible? Their struggles don't fall solely on Brissett's shoulders.
Maye's first start will come up against a Texans defense that just shut down the Buffalo Bills offense in Week 5. Josh Allen, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now, completed just nine of his 30 pass attempts, which is the lowest completion percentage of any quarterback who has attempted at least 30 passes in a single game over the past 30 years. That doesn't exactly bode well for Maye behind this porous offensive line, and without a top target to throw to when he drops back.
The safe route is boring, yes, but there's a reason why the team turned to Brissett to start the season. The Patriots aren't going to win no matter who they play at quarterback this season; not even Tom Brady could find a way to win with this dumpster fire of a unit. Again, Maye will make things more exciting, but that is no reason to potentially sacrifice his development for.
Who knows, maybe he goes out there and lights it up like fellow rookie quarterbacks in Jayden Daniels or Caleb Williams, but a quick look at their respective supporting casts shows you just how desolate the Patriots unit is. It's not a stretch to suggest this could be a franchise altering mistake, and while New England will be more fun to watch the rest of the way out, it could come at the cost of actually being able to turn Maye into their franchise quarterback in future seasons.
